Chicago Fire select Kheli Dube in Re-Entry Draft; Baggio Husidic and Jon Conway selected by other MLS teams

The Chicago Fire selected former New England Revolution striker Kheli Dube with the 8th Pick in the Second Round of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. Dube would leave the New England Revolution, the only MLS club he has ever known, if the two sides can reach a deal in the next 7 days. In four seasons the Zimbabwean compiled 14 goals and 8 assists in 72 appearances. His 2011 season was a lost year due to an unfortunate car accident in the spring that left him with whiplash symptoms for over a third of the season. He was inactive when the Fire traveled to New England back in June and started to make his comeback in late August. When 2011 drew to a close, Dube had just 114 minutes played and no goals or assists to his name.

New England Revolution fired long tenured coach Steve Nicol in the off-season and hired Jay Heaps to take over. Heaps and the Revs front office would have to have doled out $90,000+ in order to keep Dube around. It's no surprise that Heaps saw Dube as a target to put into the Re-Entry Draft. It's also no surprise that Frank Klopas and the Chicago Fire went after Kube here. By selecting him in the second round, the Fire now have seven days to re-negotiate a new and almost certainly lower priced contract. Dube holds a green card so he doesn't take up an international spot. His injury in 2011 is note for caution but it also means the 28 year-old has less wear and tear going into 2012. As long as they aren't hoping Dube will do more than give spot starts and come off the bench, this is a good move that doesn't tie up too many resources. More thoughts and the full re-entry draft after the break.

New England Revolution selected Nate Jaqua with the 2nd pick. You have to think the Fire would have taken Jaqua if they were willing to take Dube. It's too bad that didn't work out. Other former Fire players selected in the draft include Colorado taking Baggio Husidic and LA taking Jon Conway and Dasan Robinson. Alec Dufty was not selected by any team and now becomes a free agent. Players like Zach Thornton, Jeff Cunningham, Peter Lowry, and Chris Albright also join the ranks of free agency.

STAGE 2 RE-ENTRY DRAFT PICKS

Pick	Club	Round 1 Player (former club)	Round 2 (if nec.) Player (former club)
1		Marc Burch (D.C. United)
2		Nate Jaqua (Seattle Sounders FC)	Clyde Simms (D.C. United)
3		Pass
4		Pass
5		Pass
6		Pass
7		Pass
8		Kheli Dube (New England Revolution)
9		Pass
10		Pass
11		Pass
12		Pass
13		Baggio Husidic (Chicago Fire)	Hunter Freeman (Houston Dynamo)
14		Pass
15		Pass
16		Pass
17		Pass
18		Andrew Boyens (Chivas USA)	Chris Leitch (San Jose Earthquakes) Pat Noonan (Seattle Sounders FC) Jon Conway (Chicago Fire) Dasan Robinson (LA Galaxy) Frankie Hejduk (LA Galaxy)
19		Pass